Las Vegas, Revisited (Sort Of).

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that I might come back to the Las Vegas portion of my last trip, due to the fact that the post was going to take a little more time than I had then.  Soooo....as promised.  However, be forewarned, it's less of a travel post and more of a "looking inward" post.  (I have to be in the mood to write posts like this, which is why they don't happen that often, which is probably fortunate.)

Fun Fact Number One: I may not always quite look it, but at heart, I'm nothing but a simple country girl whose idea of heaven on earth is a little house off in a field somewhere, full of babies and friends and laughter, fresh homemade bread cooling on the counter and cookies in the cookie jar, a big garden with all kinds of things growing in it, and plenty of books and songs and good conversation.  Really, anything outside of that world brings some measure, no matter how small, of discomfort.  Oh, I know what a person might see when they look at me, the fearlessly independent, high-powered career woman slash world traveler slash straight-A engineering student who has no problem swaggering straight into a man's world and taking no prisoners.  Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the life I have, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that have come my way.  But the truth remains, no matter how well I hide it.

Fun Fact Number Two: If there is one driving force that supersedes nearly all else in my life, it is a burning desire to come through, for my family, my friends, my little people, my bosses, my professors and coworkers, those who know me well, those who know me not so well, and most importantly, for my God - to find whatever it is that is needed from me, to deliver, and, if at all humanly possible, to never disappoint.

Normally, when you mix all of that jumble together, it works out pretty well in terms of a very happy, fulfilling life.  Every once in awhile, though, the results get...interesting.

Take, for instance, flying out to Las Vegas to attend a business convention with my boss and a colleague.  Understand that this is a new job, in a new industry, one with a whole lot at stake in every transaction, fraught with opportunities to fall flat on one's face at any given moment, full of the most arrogant power players I've ever had the good (or mis-, depending on how you look at it) fortune to observe, and one that I know next to nothing about.  Imagine a deep sense of gratitude towards a boss for a certain willingness to risk investing in an inexperienced, unknown novice-girl and a powerful desire to prove worthy of that faith, and combine that with a fierce determination to go toe-to-toe with all of that cockiness and to succeed.  Now, mix the wide-open-space-loving country girl I told you about with hordes of pleasure-seekers, noise, and chaos and add that need to get it right - to dress appropriately, to look and speak the part without doing anything too embarrassing - in short, to conduct myself as a credit to my traveling companions, and you'll start to get an idea of the pretty intense pressure that I was beginning to labor under by the time that plane landed.

Let's just say that by days' end, I felt less a human being and more like a very prickly little caterpillar who wanted nothing more than to curl up in a hard, tight little ball and disappear for a very long time.

But then, in the nick of time, I remembered a few things.  I remembered that I was blessed beyond measure, not only to have an opportunity to see and experience so many incredibly amazing things, far above and beyond my wildest dreams, but to have that Friend who sticks closer than a brother, standing right beside me every step of the way.  I remembered that I have value, that I am loved and worthwhile, just as I am.  And I remembered that all of those awfully arrogant jerks that I saw everywhere were nothing more than people, just like me, who came into the world the same way I did, who have hopes and dreams and disappointments and insecurities, just like me, and who will stand before that great Creator one day, just like me.  The whole thing lost a lot of its loathsomeness, right then.  And, just like that, I was ready to get on board for the ride.

You know, perspective is a powerful thing.  It can mean all the difference between being a miserable, cranky, uptight (and consequently rather unpleasant) person and being the sort of person who gets joy from life no matter how it presents itself and, as a result, actually has something to offer this broken world.  I needed a nice, solid kick in the pants.  I thank the Lord for sending it my way, right on time, the way He always does, and I don't want to forget the lessons I learned.  I think they come in handy, every day of our lives.

Oh, and once I got that all straight, enjoy the ride is exactly what I did!  In between taxis, meetings, homework, and working the convention floor, I was able to indulge in my lavish corner suite on the 28th floor of the Trump International Hotel, complete with nearly 360-degree views of the city (my employer is a peach, straight up), catch the Jabbawockeez show at the Luxor (shows in Vegas are kind of like the Eiffel Tower, I think - one of those things you have to do once), walk (make that jog) The Strip and see the sights, and relish a powerfully good steak at Delmonico Steakhouse in the Venetian.  I met some really great people, gained a lot of valuable industry insight, and came away with a deeper appreciation for what I get to do and who I get to do it with.

I know, who cares about a hotel room.  But it was SO GORGEOUS.  It glowed!

And at the end of all of that, after two well-spent days, I got in a car and drove, and after ten long hours, there was my family.

And the rest is history.